Student Motivation

Helping students learn and become better everyday is why we teach students today. An

example presented in Blended illustrated what this could look like by likening knowledge

to a pitcher of water and students brains to a waiting empty bowl. (Horn & Staker, 2015)  

It is a beautiful image thinking about those minds ready to accept a pour of knowledge,

however, reality is not so clear cut. What do we do if we have the pitcher, but the bowl

is turned upside down? Students who are not motivated to turn their bowl right side up

to gain knowledge will simply shed the carefully prepared lessons.  So how can educators

today compete with and thrive through the many forces competing with our students’

attention? How can we ignite the spark that inspires our students to flip their bowl over

and seek knowledge to fill it? This is the task facing teachers to inspire our students to

seek out learning, and to find ways to connect with their individual needs.

 

Maybe not, but technology has opened many avenues of exploring ways to improve the use of classroom time and engage students in their learning. According to Horn & Staker, student motivation ranks at the top of challenges teachers face in the classroom (2015).  Students have many things competing for their time and attention, and while they will find time for the things most important to them, if they do not assign value to a classroom task, it is very unlikely to result in quality learning.

Our job becomes to motivate students seek learning, and to use our class time to mentor, and foster this learning.  In other words, to help them find joy and have success in learning. This all begins with understanding who our students are as individuals and as individual learners.  In this way instruction can be personalized for each student. This can be a tremendous challenge when faced with large class sizes or other obstacles that students may bring into the classroom.  Student needs such as adequate sleep, food, or family concerns must be addressed before students will be able to enter a learning environment with their bowl turned right side up ready to receive knowledge.

Fortunately, the technologies of today make it much easier to manage the many needs of the individuals in a classroom.  The blended learning environment allows students to experience personalized ways of learning at their own individual pace.  Empowering students to be able to seek out knowledge in ways that are meaningful to them, truly helps student motivation in the classroom.  I am looking forward to exploring how to implement PBL’s in a blended setting. These student driven units can be great motivators, and the excitement behind them often drives more inquiry beyond the project.  This also shifts the role of the teacher, no longer is it up to use to simply deliver content, our students have that at their fingertips daily. It becomes now an opportunity to mentor our students and guide them on a path that will help them fill their bowl with knowledge each time they enter our classroom and after as lifelong learners.

Horn, Michael B., author. (2015). Blended : using disruptive innovation to improve schools. San Francisco, CA :Jossey-Bass,